We got up early
this morning to attend the Evangelical Friends Church of Bujumbura. After four or five cups of chai, I was ready
to go. When we arrived, the first sermon
had already begun. We were provided
interpreters about ten minutes after our arrival, much to all of our
relief. After the first sermon, a woman
gave her testimony and it was announced, I believe, that the offering from
today would be going to her or her cause; I was unclear about what she
said. The offering was taken and the
worship team got up on stage. There was
a drum kit, an acoustic guitar on rhythm, a bass guitar, a regular ol’ guitar,
a choir of about 20 people, and a relatively small man leading it all and
singing a separate part from the choir. It
was just as you’d expect it to be: absolutely astounding. The element that made
it the most immersive was the volume to which everything coming through the
sound system was turned. The first bass
drum kick felt like a blow to the chest, and it was a beautiful thing. The choir, the band, the worship leader all
worked together to produce this glorious ocean of rich, rich music. Music truly is the universal language; it
made no difference that the lyrics were all in Kirundi, they conveyed what they
were meant to perfectly. After a couple
of songs, a bunch of children from about five to eleven years old came onto the
stage and sang with the band and danced.
Our entire group was transfixed by how cute they were. When they’d sung their songs, the children
and the worship team got off of the stage, another sermon began, this one about
God’s purpose for us. It was amazing how
I felt that it was meant for me, and it’s been a long while since I’ve felt
that close to God.
After church, we
headed back to the Swedish Guest House to have lunch and pack our things for
the two-hour road trip to Gitega.
The first vehicle
to arrive was a white Toyota Land Cruiser piloted by a funny little man named
Robert. After all of the suitcases (all), were packed like Tetris pieces
into the back of the Land Cruiser, Robert announced that he had one seat, so
who would be sacrificed as tribute to join him for the trip? I hesitantly volunteered, and we shortly
departed to get a head start on the other drivers, David Nyonzima and Kwa
Imani, both of whom were driving fifteen passenger vans. Robert, he explained, was a slow driver
compared to them and didn’t want to fall behind too far, but predicted that
they would pass us.
The road to
Gitega is a beautiful place, perhaps the most beautiful drive I’ve ever
made. This is no small notion,
considering my extensive experience in travelling in the U.S. The drive was made even more exciting by a
few factors. Primarily, the driving in
Burundi is a sight to behold. Organized chaos
is the paradox that comes to mind, and it is a perfect description for how
smoothly the roads operate here. Everything
has its proper place, and if it gets into a bigger vehicle’s way, it gets honked
at and moves back to its place. Easy as
that. Because of the chaos that seems to
ensue, Burundi drivers know the dimensions of their vehicle within an inch. I once
witnessed Kwa Imani’s side view mirror come that close to a bicyclist’s head,
and neither the biker nor Kwa Imani batted an eyelash. So too does Robert know the dimensions of his
Land Cruiser. I felt as though we
threaded needles time and time again as oncoming vehicles barreled around
curves at us. Another element of the
drive that made the two hours go by with amazing speed is the sheer beauty of Burundi’s
mountains. Think of Sedona, Arizona’s
red dirt, now make it deeper and more red than orange. That is the color of Gitega’s soil, and everything
slowly adopts that color. It contrasts
nicely with the lush green of the tropical vegetation, making for spectacular
vistas as you look across valleys at mountains.
The final thing that made my car trip very enjoyable was Robert
himself. We conversed for the entire
trip with maybe five minutes of any kind of quiet total. He and I have gotten along famously since.
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